MLB may record dugout phone calls to stop sign stealing

Major League Baseball reportedly hopes to avoid its own version of SpyGate.

With much recent attention on league efforts to quicken its game pace, MLB also plans one under-the-radar method that could also address recent controversies relating to sign stealing around baseball: recording dugout phone conversations.

According Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, new telephones will be installed in every MLB dugout and the league plans to monitor all in-game conversations on those phone lines.

The issue of sign stealing has become a concern for baseball and a point of paranoia for managers as technology around the game has evolved rapidly. One anonymous skipper told Rosenthal the league hopes to keep teams "from stealing signs through video technology in violation of the sport's rules."

The issue of teams possibly using new technology to swipe signs became news last season after the Boston Red Sox were fined an undisclosed amount after the New York Yankees complained to MLB that a member of the Red Sox training staff allegedly shared information from the video room to players using an Apple watch.

"A.J. Hinch was correct in what he was doing in the postseason, going out every couple of pitches and changing signs," the manager said while discussing the Houston Astros manager with Rosenthal. "It was killing pace of play. But they were dead right to play it that way every single pitch. They didn't want to give signs away at any point in time."

--Field Level Media

Related: Take a look at 2018's Baseball Hall of Fame class:

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2018 Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

Chipper Jones

(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

ATLANTA, GA - CIRCA 1993: Chipper Jones #10 of the Atlanta Braves looks on from the dugout during an Major League Baseball game circa 1993 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Jones played for the Braves from 1993-2012. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Trevor Hoffman

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24 Feb. 1996: San Diego Padres pitcher Trevor Hoffman (51) posses for a photograph during Padres team photo day at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria Arizona. (Photo By John Cordes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Jim Thome

(Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 15: Jim Thome of the Cleveland Indians reacts to hitting a two-run homer off of Seattle Mariners pitcher Chris Bosio in the sixth inning of game five of the American League Championship Series at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio 15 October. The home run gave the Indians a 3-2 lead. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read BRIAN BAHR/AFP/Getty Images)

Vladimir Guerrero

(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

4 May 1997: Right fielder Vladimir Guerrero #27 of the Montreal Expos sits in the dugout during a game against the San Diego Padres at QualComm Stadium in San Diego, California. The Expos won the game 9-3. Mandatory Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport